Hyderabad for a bit - India 4

I parted ways with Ashish at 6:30am to wander Hyderabad in the early morning. While I should have had all the contact info for work written down, I foolishly expected things to go according to plan. I wandered past Ek Minar Mosque (Greg's translation: One Minaret) and found that rather than frequent taxi's soliciting, I had several people including an old man on foot encouraging me to go to whatever Hotel I was near (for their commission of course). I briefly considered spending $6 to get a hotel and drop off my baggage, but I resolutely decided that I could wait until 9 or 10 when I estimated that the internet cafe's would open.

Consequently, I wandered down neighborhood passages bedecked in backpack and bag, unexpected around every corner I turned. As I wandered past a row of milk cattle, two guys on a bike warned me I was walking to a dead end. I decided to walk it anyway, and was rewarded to see a clean part of town, not trashed because there were not enough people to trash it. Similarly, I stumbled into a open play area next to the local police station. One girl was rollerskating in lazy circles on the blacktop; she only had one rollerskate.

Keeping the streets clean are mostly women and some men, sweeping dirt and refuse into piles, preferably not in front of their shop/house/place on street. The area only remains clean until a couple of vehicles drive by, carrying a pile of dust with them. I can see why female empowerment can drastically affect impoverished areas by preventing futile work.

By the time 9 and 10 am rolled around, none of the I-net cafes had opened up. I decided to take matters into my own hands, but was quickly approached by young hipster who told me I should pay no more than Rs.20 to get to the British Library. Subsequently, no autorickshaw(auto) driver knew of this place, could understand my map, or knew anywhere near there. It took a group of five boys to tell the auto-wallah where I wanted to go.

I was dropped off at the local tourism bureau near the library, so I stepped into the bureau and inquired about internet. They sent me across the street to the state government headquarters. The guards there attempted 3x to persuade me to go back across the street to the tourism bureau. Once through, I walked to the state tourism office, where I was told to wait so I could use an Asst Director's computer to check email. Once he returned, a flunky was made to give me his computer, where I found my boss at ICRISAT's number. The govy then dialed my boss, and ordered me an auto for 40km at a price I could never get: Rs. 200.

I was told to wait 1 hour and was given every English tourism pamphlet in the state. Armed with my literature I was ushered to the auto and set on my way with a driver who did not know where our destination was. We stopped twice and picked up a hitchiker in order to find our way. Once on the UN campus, the driver then tried to scam me for another Rs. 50, which was enough (>$1) that I was alerted to his scam and paid only the agreed upon $4.50.

ICRISAT fed me lunch ($.85), settled me into an airconditioned furnished room with netted
veranda ($68/month), and enrolled me in the campus fitness club ($5 for the summer). While my alternative plan to write a book and see the islands by working as a dance partner/evening entertainment on a cruise ship remains, there would be far less distraction moving to ICRISAT campus in India. Although, I suspect either way I would have to do some work in order to have the cheap berth. Fortunately, today is Saturday, so I have time to relax.